Door locking, releasing, and operating means



March 11 1924. 1,486,271

H. R. TSUTSUI DOOR LOCKING, RELEASING, AND OPERATING MEANS Original Filed April 12, 1918 f2: aerzifar I k: I? 73a 56a 6 l atented Euler, ll, 1%242 HARRY B. TSUTSUI, 0'3 LOS ANG-ELES, CALIFORNIA.

DOOR LOCKING, BEILEASING, AND OPERATING- MEANS.

Application filed. April 12, 1918, Serial No. 228,215.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HARRY R. Tso'rsui, a subject of the Emperor of Japan, residing at llos Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State or" California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Door Locking, Releasing, and Operating lvleans, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to door locking, releasing and operating means, and has for its object to provide improved means Whereby doors of garages and other buildings may be controlled as to opening and closing, particularly responsive to the movements of an automobile or other vehicle. The invention has also for further objects the provision of improved means of the character mentioned which would be superior in point oi relative simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, convenience in installation and repair and control, facility and positiveness and reliability in operation, and which will be generally superior in service ability.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, combination, association and inter-relation of parts, members and features, all as hereinafter described, shown in the drawing and finally pointed out in claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, partially broken away, horizontal plan view or a portion'of a garage or other building and the door thereof, likewise illustrating means for controlling and operating the door in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view of a portion oi the temporary door-holding means disclosed in Figure 1, the same being in detached position; v

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail fragmentary view of latch means for locking the door, the same being operated responsive to the door controlling means shown in the other figures;

Figure '1 is a detail fragmentary vertical sectional elevation taken .upon the line m*-m*, Figure 1, and looking in the direction of the appended arrows;

Figure 5 is a detail enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the latch means shown in Figure 3, the same being taken upon the line w"o Figure 6, looking in the direction of the appended arrows; and,

Renewed November 30, 1928.

Figure 6 is a vertical detail fragmentary sectional view taken upon the line a2 w", Figure 5.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are designated by the same reference characters.

Referring with particularity to the drawing, A designates a portion of a horizontally sliding vertically disposed door, mounted in any suitable manner to be moved transversely 0i the entrance space between the side walls B of a garage, such door being disposed to be moved in a path outward of fixed garage floor sections C and D and a tilting garage floor section E, across which floor sections the wheels of the automobile, entering the garage, may pass. F-

designates generally operating means for the door A, such operating means including a depressible member f capable of swinging in an upright path, and across which the automobile or other vehicle is adapted to be moved in its approach to the garage. This member f may be mounted and confined in any suitable manner, and is shown as directly pivotally supported, as at 7, at one end of a long lever arm 8, the fulcrum 9 of which is closer to the member 7 than to a sleeve with which the other end of the lever 8 is pivotally connected as at 11. This sleeve 10 is included in the operating means F, and between it and a pinion 12 meshing with a horizontal rack 13 upon the door A, is transmission means including the following elements: First, the sleeve 10, which is mounted to play vertically upon a standard or upright 14, beneath the garage floor member C, and which is provided with a vertical rack 15 meshing with a pinion 16 in turn meshing with a pinion 17 fixed to a toothed wheel 18 connected by a transmission chain 19 with a toothed wheel 20 fixed to a toothed wheel 21 in turn connected by a transmission chain 22 with a toothed wheel 23 which is suitably geared as at 24c, to an upright shaft 25 carryingv the pinion 12. Suitable standards 25 and 27 and a suitable frame member 28 accommodate the transmission means described, to which is added a suitable housing 29 for the shaft lhe tilting floor member E is mounted upon a suitable rock shaft 30 having bearings as at 31 in the fixed floor members C and D, and is adapted to be tilted outwardly into the path of the retracted door A, or inwardly of the garage out of such path; and is provided with a depending ball runway 32 within which a counter-balance ball 33 is mounted to play in a path toward and away from the path of the door A, and adapted to temporarily hold the tilting floor member E in either of its tilted positions.

The latch means G comprise a latch member 34 pivoted as at 35 in the jamb orframe of the doorway, as in the Wall E, and having a hooked nose 36 adapted to co-engage with the door A, a fragment of which is shown in each of Figures 5 and 6, in a locking chamber 37 in said door, to hold the door in closed position. The latch member 34 is provided with a pivoted depending latch rod 38 which is pivotally connected at its lower end, as at 39, with a trip lever 40 pivotally mounted between its ends as at 41 and further pivotally connected as at 42 with the lever 8.

The operation, method of use and advantages of the improvements in door locking, releasing and operating means will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accom- *panying drawing, and the following statement:

When an automobile or other vehicle is driven toward the garage in the direction designated by the arrow below Figure 2, the operating means member 7 is depressed and the sleeve 10 is elevated, causing the pinion 12 to be turned by the various transmission members between such pinion and the rack 15 upon the sleeve 10, and in operation causing the door A to be moved transversely of the entrance to the garage, in the direction designated by the arrow adjacent to such door, whereupon the automobile may proceed to enter the garage. At the same time the trip lever 40 is swung and the latch rod 38 drawn down so as to tilt the latch member 34: and disengage the door, and this is done in the initiation of movement of the operating means F, there being a slight space illustrated in the drawing between the opposed door edge and the garage wall, to permit the latch means G to operate at the very beginning of the opening movement of the door. It will be readily understood that the parts may easily be relatively arranged so that the release of the door from the latch means would be entirely accomplished prior to the movement of the door. As the automobile enters the garage, one of the front wheels tilts the floor member 151 forwardly and downwardly so as to come into the path of the door and prevent the door closing, due to the removal of the weight of the automobile from the member 7. When-the automobile finally enters the garage one of the rear wheels gives the member E a final tilt, inwardly and downwardly to release the door,

so that it may be closed automatically or manually. The counter-balance weight 33 holds the member E in either of the positions assumed by it, and such member may be so arranged and controlled as desired with respect to the actionof the wheels upon it or to permit it to tilt responsive to such action, all as will be readily understood.

It will be obvious that an ascending move ment of the member 7 will cause the door A to close, and at the same time will bring the latch member 34: into position to co-engage with the door and lock it upon its return to closed position, or substantially so. That is to say, when the weight of the vehicle is removed from the member 7, the latter will rise due to the descent of the sleeve 10 whose weight is suldcient, with the aid of the long lever arm 8, to elevate said member 7, and also actuate the operating mechanism F to thereby return the door to its closed position. The latch rod 38 may be broken away between its ends, as at 38, to include a coil spring 2 to accommodate an extended movement of the latch rod in conjunction with but a relatively slight movement of the latch member 34. It is manifest that the door may be closed manually if desired, and that this will produce likewise an operation of the latch means G, to lock the door. Similarly, the door may also be opened manually, and unlocked,

It is manifest that many changes and variations may be made, from the construction and inter-relation of parts and features shown in the drawing and herein'above described, in adapting the invention to vary ing conditions of use and service, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus disclosed my invention, 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

Tn an automatic door operating mechanisrn, the combination with a slidably mounted door, of a rack carried by the door, an operating pinion for said rack and means for operating said pinion including a driv- 

